MATTHEW CHAPTER 1 AND CHAPTER 2
An Outline Of These Two Chapters:
The Lineage Of The King. Matthew 1:
The Lineage Of Jesus Christ, The Son Of David, The Son Of Abraham.
The Three Stages.
Based On Three Great Stages In Jewish History.
1. The History Down To David And Rise Of Israel's Greatest King.
2. The History Down To The Exile To Babylon And Nation's Shame, Tragedy, Disaster.
3. The History Down To Jesus Christ Who Liberated Mankind From Their Slavery, From Disaster.
The Realization Of Men's Dreams.
The Son Of David And The Fulfillment Of Prophecy.
Not The Righteous, But Sinners.
Of Course: Sinners Were In The Family Tree And Lineage Of Jesus.
The Savior's Entry Into The World.
Child Of A Virgin. Destined To Be King.
Born Of The Holy Spirit.
Jews Understood Born Of The Holy Spirit As Bringing God's Truth To Mankind.
Creation And Re-Creation.
Jews Connected Work Of The Holy Spirit With The Work Of Creation And Then Re-Creation.
Note: The Dry Bones Back To Life (Ezekiel 27).
The Birthplace of the King. (Matt. 2).
The Homage of the East And The Crafty King.
Gifts for Christ And The Escape to Egypt.
The Slaughter of the Children And Return to Nazareth.
THE TARGET TEXT FOR TODAY:
THE LINEAGE OF OUR KING.
Key Takeaway: The King Born In Bethlehem Is Immanuel, God With Us.
Jesus Is Born As An Infant, Savior, And King. The Son Of David, The Son Of Abraham.
The Gift Of Salvation:
No Matter What Our Sinful Condition,
We Should Accept TOTAL FORGIVENESS:
By Believing In The Lord Jesus Christ,
Who Lived, Died, And Rose Again,
To Redeem Us From All Sin.
LAST WEEK REVIEW: Taken From Matthew 9:
When Jesus First Met MATTHEW And Called Him:
Matthew Was In A State Of Sin And Unfaithfulness.
Matthew Was A Tax Collector.
He Collected Taxes From His People On Behalf Of Rome.
A Traitor To God's Own Covenant People.
Matthew Tells Us His Own Story.
Jesus Was Leaving Nazareth.
Jesus Passed By Matthew And Said To Him: FOLLOW ME.
So He Arose And Followed Him.
The Pharisees Asked: Why Does Your Teacher Sit With Sinners.
Jesus Heard AND Said: Those Who Are Well Have No Need Of A Physician. But Those Who Are Sick.
Jesus Is Meaning: He Did Not Come To Call The Righteous. But Sinners To Repentance.
Matthew: A Repentant Traitor Transformed By God's Grace.
He Had At One Time Worked Against God's Kingdom,
But Now Had Become A Worshiper And Follower Of God's King.
So, GENEALOGIES ARE IMPORTANT:
THEY PROVE TO US THAT GOD WORKS PROVIDENTIALLY,
The People From Whom Other People Are Born.
God Shows His Promises Will Be Done.
Scripture Shows That God Is A Greatest Promise Keeper.
One Who Faithfully And Fully Keeps All His Promises.
But This Genealogy Is Particularly Important.
It Is The Genealogy Of King Jesus.
THIS GENEALOGY SHOWS GOD KEPT THIS PROMISE HISTORICALLY.
That Is, In Real History!
The Savior That We Trust Is Not A Mythical Character.
But Someone Who Actually Came Into Human History.
But Someone Who Came In Real Time, With A Real Genealogy.
Born From Real People.
Jesus' Birth Is Inseparable From Time-Place History!
Our Faith Is Based On An Actual, Historic Event!
THIS GENEALOGY SHOWS JESUS TRULY IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
A Crucial To The Whole Message Of The Gospel Itself.
Jesus Is Historically And In His Lineage To Be Whom The Gospel Presents Him To Be.
If The Assertion Of This Genealogy Were Not True, Then Jesus Could Not Be The Promised King Of The Jews.
If He Is Not The Promised King Of The Jews, Then God's Promise Has Failed, And We Have No Savior!
CONSIDER THE GENEALOGY OF JESUS CHRIST, MATTHEW'S GENEALOGY IN PARTICULAR:
It Tells More Than Who Jesus' Ancestors Were:
It Is More Like A Tribute To God's Grace Throughout Redemptive History.
MATTHEW WANTS US TO SEE THAT JESUS, THE KING OF ISRAEL, IS LIKE NO OTHER KING ON EARTH.
He Is A King Of Grace;
That Is What His Pedigree Shows Us.
The People God Chose For The Lineage Of Messiah.
The Wonderful Grace Of God Provides Hope For Sinners.
Matthew's Genealogy Account Is More Of A Logical Than A Chronological Approach To Show You Four Key Instances Of God's Amazing Grace.
1. ONE WOMAN:
Jacob Was The Father Of Joseph The Husband Of Mary, By Whom Jesus Was Born, Who Is Called The Messiah (Matthew 1:16).
In Mary, God Showed His Grace By Choosing Her To Be The Mother Of The Messianic King.
Although Descended From The Royal Line Of David, Mary Was An Ordinary Unknown Young Woman.
Mary Was Just As Much A Sinner As All Persons Born.
She Said So Herself At The Very Beginning Of Her Magnificat: My Soul Exalts The Lord And My Spirit Has Rejoiced In God My Savior.
Contrary To Claims Of Her Immaculate Conception,
That She Was Conceived Without Original Sin,
Any Teaching That Exalts Her To A Level Beyond A Grace-Saved Sinner Is Wholly UNSCRIPTURAL.
Mary Did Receive Grace,
Mary Receive A Very Generous Measure Of Grace.
God Chose Her:
To Be The Mother Of The Savior.
To Birth The Atonement To Take Away Her Sins.
Mary Knew It Was A Tremendous Honor And Privilege.
2. TWO MEN:
The Record Of The Genealogy Of Jesus The Messiah, The Son Of David, The Son Of Abraham,
Son Of David:
David Is Remembered As A Man After God's Own Heart.
David Was Guilty Of Horrific Sin.
He Committed Adultery With Bathsheba.
He Conspired To Cover His Sin With The Treacherous Murder Of Her Husband.
David's Polygamy And Poor Parenting Produced Tragic Results In His Family Life.
David's Other Son Amnon Raped His Half-Sister Tamar:
David Did Nothing (2 Sam. 13:1-22).
That Neglect Set In Motion The Events That Darkened The Final Years Of David's Reign.
Tamar's Brother Absalom:
Murdered Amnon,
Usurped David's Throne,
Committed Public Immorality With David's Concubines.
Son of Abraham:
Abraham: Remembered As The Father Of All Who Believe.
He Demonstrated Tremendous Cowardice.
He Feared For His Life Rather Than Trusting In God.
Two Different Pagan Kings Brought Abraham's Wife Sarah Into Their Harems. Why?
Abraham Told Them She Was His Sister.
He Failed To Love And Protect Sarah,
He Brought Shame On Sarah,
He Brought Shame On Himself.
He Brought Shame On God He Claimed To TRUST.
David And Abraham Were Sinners, Just Like You And Me.
Yet God Made Abraham The Father Of His Chosen People, Israel, From Whom The Messiah Would Arise.
Yet God Made David Father Of The Royal Line From Whom The Messiah Would Descend.
Jesus Was The Son Of David By Royal Descent And Son Of Abraham By Racial Ascent.
God Blessed Both Of Those Men.
He Prospered Them In Life.
He Included Them In The Ancestry Line.
He Would Send Jesus The Messiah Through Them.
Overcoming Tragedy And Shame Of All Their Sin:
3. THREE ERAS:
So All The Generations:
From Abraham To David Are Fourteen Generations:
From David To The Deportation To Babylon, Fourteen Generations;
From The Deportation To Babylon To The Messiah, Fourteen Generations.
Matthew's Summary Shows Three Periods, Or Eras, Of Israel's History: The Grace Of God Was Abundant In Each.
First Period, "From Abraham To David,"
The Patriarchs: Moses, Joshua, The Judges.
It Included Wandering, Enslavement, Deliverance, Covenant-Making, Law-Giving, Conquest, And Victory.
Second Period, "From David To The Deportation To Babylon,"
The Monarchy: David, Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, Josiah. The Only Good And Godly Kings.
The Rest Led Israel Away From God And Into Trouble.
A Period Of Almost Uninterrupted Decline, Degeneracy, Apostasy, And Tragedy.
There Was Defeat, Conquest, Exile, The Destruction Of Jerusalem And Its Temple.
Third Period, "From The Deportation To Babylon To The Time Of Christ,"
The Captivity: Exile, Frustration, And Of Marking Time.
A Period Of Obscurity And Anonymity.
Israel's "Dark Ages."
Those Three Eras Are The National Genealogy Of Jesus,
A Mingling Of History:
Glory And Disgrace And Heroism And Obscurity.
When Jesus Entered Israel's History As Her Messiah, She Rejected And Crucified Him.
But God Still Elected Israel As The Nation Messiah Would Rule,
Though A Rebellious And Undeserving Nation.
Further Testimony Of HIS INFINITE GRACE.
4. FOUR OUTCASTS:
Judah Was The Father Of Perez And Zerah By Tamar .
Salmon Was The Father Of Boaz By Rahab,
Boaz Was The Father Of Obed By Ruth,
David Was The Father Of Solomon By Bathsheba.
Matthew's Genealogy Also Shows:
The Work Of God's Grace: He Chose To Include Four Former Outcasts In Messiah's Pedigree.
Women Are Exceptional Illustrations Of God's Grace.
The First Outcast Was Tamar,
The Canaanite Daughter-In-Law Of Judah.
She Gained Notoriety By Resorting To Deception, Prostitution, And Incest When She Couldn't Get A Child Any Other Way.
Tamar Disguised Herself As A Prostitute And Tricked Judah Into Having Sexual Relations With Her.
From That Illicit Union Were Born Twin Sons, Perez And Zerah, And Thus Tamar And Her Son Perez Joined Judah In The Messianic Line.
Despite Prostitution And Incest, God's Grace Fell On All Three Of Those Undeserving Persons, Including A Desperate And Deceptive Gentile Harlot.
The Second Outcast Was Rahab,
Also A Woman And A Gentile, But She Made Prostitution Her Livelihood.
Rahab Was No Paragon Of Virtue, But She Put Her Faith In The God Of Israel
And Demonstrated It By Protecting The Two Men Joshua Sent To Spy Out Her City.
God Spared Her Life And The Lives Of Her Family When Jericho Was Besieged And Destroyed.
God Brought Her Into The Messianic Line.
She Became The Wife Of Salmon And The Mother Of The Godly Boaz, David's Great-Grandfather.
The Third Outcast Was Ruth,
The Wife Of Boaz, Was The Third Outcast.
Though She Was A Moabitess And Former Pagan,
Having No Right To Marry An Israelite,
God's Grace Brought Ruth Into The Family Of Israel,
Through Boaz, Into The Royal Line.
She Became The Grandmother Of Israel's Great King David.
The Fourth Outcast Was Bathsheba,
Entered The Messianic Line Through Adultery With David.
The Son Died In Infancy.
The Next Son Born To Them Was Solomon.
He Was Successor To David's Throne.
He Continued The Messianic Line.
Bathsheba Became The Wife Of David,
The Mother Of Solomon An Ancestor Of The Messiah.
THE GENEALOGY OF JESUS CHRIST IS IMMEASURABLY MORE THAN A LIST OF ANCIENT NAMES:
It Is Even More Than A List Of Jesus' Human Forebears.
It Is A Beautiful Testimony To God's Grace.
It Is A Testimony To The Ministry Of His Son Jesus Christ.
He Is Truly The Friend Of Sinners Who Came To Call Not The Righteous But Sinners To Repentance.
No Matter What Our Sinful Condition,
We Should Accept TOTAL FORGIVENESS:
By Believing In The Lord Jesus Christ,
Who Lived, Died, And Rose Again To Redeem Us From All Sin.
Total Forgiveness.
Total Forgiveness As It Relates To The Genealogy Of Jesus Christ.
Absolutely Amazing In Terms Of Forgiveness:
Why Jesus Christ Came Into This World.
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